Weekend

Sideshow: The GOP’s feeling nostalgic for the 1950s

Rep. Phil Gingrey wants to remind girls and boys about traditional family roles in his defense of DOMA; The Daily Show’s John Oliver breaks down the GOP’s real reasons for backing immigration reform: the numbers say they have to; the White House looks...

GOP Rep. Gingrey: teach kids about traditional gender roles

Feeling a little nostalgia for the days of “Father Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver”?

Maybe not, but Congressman Phil Gingrey definitely is. Gingrey used his time on the House floor last night to express his support for DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act. According to the Georgia Republican, even a Supreme Court decision to uphold the law would not be enough to solidify traditional marriage.

“Maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age, maybe at the grade school level, and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what’s important,” Gingrey suggested.

What exactly would be covered in these gender-specific classes on marriage?

“You know, this is what a father does that is may be a little, a little different–maybe a little better than the talent that mom has in a certain area and same things for the young girls…this is what a mom does and this is what’s important from the standpoint of that union, which we call marriage,” Gingrey continued.

In other words, explaining to kids which parent they should count on to pay bills and which one they should expect to see folding laundry or doing dishes will clear up any questions about why same-sex marriage is unworkable (or unnecessary)?

It’s not too often you hear Republicans encouraging a larger government role in the education system, yet here we are, and the issue has absolutely nothing to do with academics. Gingrey went on to say that he does have several female relatives who work outside the home, but “they’re still there as moms. And when they come home and take over that responsibility, they need a shared partner and that partner is that partner for life.”

It’s not the first time Congressman Gingrey has made headlines for something that doesn’t quite square with Republican efforts to appeal to women voters. In January, Gingrey stepped up to defend, or at least partially defend, Todd Akin’s comments on “legitimate rape”:

“What he meant by ‘legitimate rape’ was just, look, someone can say ‘I was raped’: a scared-to-death 15 year old taht becomes impregnated by her boyfriend and then has to tell her parents, that’s pretty tough and might on some occasion say, ‘Hey, I was raped.’ That’s what he meant when he said ‘legitimate rape’ versus ‘non-legitimate rape.’”

Unfortunately for Republicans who want the GOP to become more inclusive, Congressman Gingrey is not alone. Just a few weeks ago, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant suggested that problems in the country’s education system are in part caused by having women in the workplace, as opposed to at home caring for their children.